"Testing"
Episode Summary
| Home | Episodes | Music |
| Images | Links | Cast |
Written by: Therese Beaupre
Directed by: Norma Bailey
Aired on Nickelodeon: April 30, 2000 at 8:00 p.m.
My Overall Opinion of the Episode:
This episode will appeal to anyone who has ever felt frustration over the educational system's overemphasis on standardized tests. True intelligence, after all, can rarely be determined this way.
The Cast:
Philip Akin -- Mr. Watson
Cynthia Belliveau -- Dori Lowe
Bob Chomyn -- Joey Delvechio
Lindsay Felton -- Caitlin Seeger
Brendan Fletcher -- Eric Anderson
Jeremy Foley -- Griffen Lowe
Tania Saulnier -- Taylor Langford
Ken Tremblett -- Jim Lowe
Stephen Warner -- Brett Stevens
The Music:
"Angel of Mine" -- A Is A
"Wishing for a Sail" -- Dig Circus
"Duh, Love, Uh-Huh" -- Jeremy Foley, Stephen Warner, Brendan Fletcher, and Chris Powell
"Gravity" -- The Household Saints
Episode Summary:
Caitlin and Griffen take a standardized skills test at school. The results are the opposite of what everyone expects. Caitlin scores in the top 10 percentile while Griffen scores in the bottom 30 percentile. Griffen has always had a reputation for being intelligent and smart, and his low score is devestating to him. He becomes so discouraged that he starts answering questions wrongly in class and he starts speaking before thinking. He stops living up to his potential. Meanwhile, Caitlin has trouble accepting the fact that she did so well. She has usually received poor grades in school and she doesn't think that she is very smart. Jim and Dori ask the school to take a second look at Griffen's test. It is discovered that the correction template was put on wrongly and Griffen's test was graded incorrectly. Griffen actually scored an 89. Griffen happily declares, "I'm back!" Caitlin happily points out that she scored four points higher than Griffen. Caitlin finally begins to recognize that she is much smarter than she had previously realized.
Episode Highlights:
1. Mr. Watson, Caitlin's English teacher, talks to Jim and Dori about Caitlin. Caitlin did well on the skills test, but her grades in class are usually poor. Mr. Watson says, "I've never had a student with so much talent perform so badly." Jim asks, "You ever taught a student who's been through what she has?" Mr. Watson says, "No." Dori says, "We have to try to motivate her, too. Obviously she has a gift--" Dori is suddenly interrupted by Caitlin who has overheard the entire conversation. Caitlin sarcastically and angrily says, "I'm gifted! I'm under-privileged! Wouldn't it be great if you could save me?!" Caitlin angrily says to Dori, "Why don't you just write an article about me for one of your vet journals? Because that's how you're treating me, like some specimen you can put under a microscope and analyze!" Jim says, "Caitlin, that's not fair!" Mr. Watson adds, "You don't understand! This is your whole future!" Caitlin shouts, "Will everybody just stop talking about my future?! I don't care about my future!" She angrily walks away.
2. Caitlin has trouble getting Bandit (her horse) to cross a small bridge across a creek. No matter what she does, Bandit won't cross it. She says to Bandit, "You're afraid to cross it, aren't you? Where you came from, they're weren't any bridges, were there? Just like where I came from, there weren't any IQ tests. Whoever invented them anyway? Everyone's always trying to prove how stupid you are!"
3. Near the end of the episode, Griffen comes up with an idea to help Bandit cross the bridge. He blindfolds Bandit. Caitlin is then able to walk Bandit out to the middle of the bridge. The blindfold is removed and Bandit walks the rest of the way, unafraid. Griffen says to Caitlin, "What if he wasn't really afraid of the bridge? What if he was afraid of what was on the other side?" Griffen adds that Caitlin may have the same fear that Bandit had. Caitlin asks, "What's your point?" Griffen says, "It's like you have to move forward." Caitlin says, "So it's like I have to cross the bridge but I'm too freaked out to do it?" Griffen says, "Yeah." Caitlin continues, "Up until two days ago, I was a total slacker." Griffen says, "And you were pretty good at it." Caitlin says, "And now it's like I'm this brain, but I'm not really." Griffen asks, "How do you know? Up until today, Bandit couldn't cross a bridge." Caitlin finally realizes that she is capable of accomplishing so much more that she had ever thought. She says, "So it's like who I think I am isn't what I could be."
Episode Image:
